Kingston Council Is Very, Very Sorry

By london_alice Last edited 201 months ago
Kingston Council Is Very, Very Sorry
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Last autumn, Michael Enright was in a horrible accident. An out of control car, driven by a drunk driver, drove onto the pavement and into a wall, crushing Enright's foot under the car and killing his dog, Deefa. He spent a month in the hospital recovering from leg injuries, and has further surgeries scheduled for September. He's doing better now, though.

Or, at least he was until last Thursday. Because on Thursday, he got a letter from Kingston Council telling him the bill for the damaged wall would be sent to him, and also sent a bill for the cost of disposing of his pet's body. Understandably, Enright was a bit upset about this.

Turns out that the council never meant to send him the letter. A typo on the police report had Enright listed as the driver of the car, and the council sent the letter assuming he should be responsible for the costs.

The council is very anxious to let us all know that they're not in the habit of insisting victims pay for damages:

"The council acted in good faith, using information from an accident report which was unfortunately incorrect. We apologise wholeheartedly for any distress caused to Mr Enright and will be making this known to him."

This is a good lesson for anyone filling out reports — proofreading never hurt anyone.

Image taken from straw dog's Flickr photo stream

Last Updated 20 June 2007